Alice in Wonderland, a deeper look down the Rabbit Hole.

     As a child I was scared by the story of Alice in Wonderland.  It was the opposite of everything I felt that was safe and secure.  Flowers were mean, cats smirked at your questions and Alice was in peril.  The story was a glimpse into the most terrifying kinds of problems;  The ones where things appear to be  enchanting, but they spin you in circles and spit you out lost.

    There have been rumors that Lewis Carroll was on some kind of acid trip when he wrote the book, I do not believe that for a minute.  As I read the story today, I realize it is full of depth and insight that only an astute author could summon.  On a certain level Alice  is a cautionary tale, warning  us of common mistakes we make. 

    The trouble begins when  Alice grows bored of her sister.   Alice is compelled to find something more exciting and peers into the deep, dark rabbit hole.  Being curiouser and curiouser  she "accidentally" falls in.  This never fooled me as a child, no one  accidentally falls into a  rabbit hole,  I believe Alice purposely and with great effort shoved herself in.  

      Instead of realizing her predicament and yelling back to her family for help,  (as a child I always thought a rope would do nicely here) Alice impetously presses forward into the unknown.

      Alice begins eating and drinking  cakes and liquids with no known origins, in an effort to squeeze through a door she was clearly not intended to enter.  Abruptly, there appears on the scene a Neurotic Rabbit badly in need of a Xanax.  The White Rabbit appears to be  running toward his doom with an absurd urgency.  As a child it was clear to me that this was the wrong character to choose as your leader,  but sadly Alice follows the unstable Rabbit into Wonderland.

    I have always had great concern for the nervous White rabbit running around so frantically.    The rabbit is not hurtful, but is clearly not helpful.  I found the Rabbit a  fluffy tragedy because he appeared to know where he was going, but he did not.   I craved the leadership this amiable little rabbit never had, his character in the story gave me no hope.        
     When Alice gets through the door and finally puts her feet down on solid ground she joins a race.  This race has no beginning and no end: you just run around and around in circles.  I see a parallel to a human tendency in this episode.   Many times in life have I found myself unintentionally entered into a race like this.  I'm I the thinnest? Am I the most creative? Am I the prettiest?  There is no end to these kinds of races and they exhaust you.  Alice learns quickly that she is going nowhere fast and gets out of this maniacal race.  Good choice Alice.

      
     I find it fortuitous that Alice walks right into an identity crisis when she seeks help from the Caterpillar.  Upon her approach the Caterpillar questions ingeniously "Who are you?"  I don't believe it was the Caterpillar's intention to find out who Alice was....it seems his objective was to motivate Alice to look more closely at herself.   This tangent confuses Alice, but it is all part of her journey.  Alice's former pattern of behavior was to run around seeking answers from everyone she met, but now Alice needed to provide an answer and found she could not.  Alice was young had not yet fully developed her own identity.     I relate to Alice in this part, when I am running around in a frenzy I loose touch with who I am. 

     The Cheshire cat is probably the most sagacious character in the story.  He is fleeting in his initial appearance, but then purposely poises himself  in a tree with signs pointing everywhere and nowhere at the same time.  Alice solicits the help of the Cheshire cat in an effort to find  an honest direction.  Upon which the most quoted exchange from the book takes place:


                                                  "Which road do I take?" She asks. 
                                                  "Where do you want to go?" was his response.
                                                  "I don't know." Alice answered.
                                                  "Then," said the cat "It doesn't matter." 

        And so we finally hear what I believe is the most important message of the story.
If you don't know where you are going, you will never get there.
If you don't know where your going, you will end up where you don't want to be.  
If  you don't know where you are going, there will be a legion of paths with a bounty of characters, 
 You will be entertained for sure, but an resolute path can not be secured in Wonderland.

     Frantic and wearied, Alice reaches the Mad Hatter who is my favorite character because he is jubilantly hosting a never ending party. The Mad Hatter is surrounded by a mix of equally jovial companions.  The conversations are captivating because each character holds a resolute opinion of nonsense.  Alice soon realizes that this inquiry is going nowhere because the gregarious Mad Hatter is out of his mind.  At this point Alice seems discontent with things in Wonderland.  Alice realizes that if she is going to get any direction for herself she is going to need to leave these fools behind.  Alice has stopped asking questions and understands that the she needs to find her way.  

   

      In route Alice stumbles upon a Queen consumed with hatred and the desire to dominate everyone in her kingdom.  In fear Alice is compelled to flee from Wonderland. Over the threats "Off with her head, off with her head!!!"  Alice runs for her life.  Her desire to live seems to jolt her into reality. Alice's great eagerness to see her sister again brings into sight the path by the river bank which leads Alice safely home.  When Alice decided where she wanted to go the path she had been searching for suddenly appeared before her eyes.  It is evident Alice just needed to know that she wanted to go home and the only person who could get her there was herself.

                     I will refrain from explaining what I think this story symbolizes in my life and leave room for you  to explore what it means to you.  When you discover something on your own, you learn so much more.   What was once considered a disturbing children's story is now an insightful peek into a journey through life.  I am no longer scared by Alice and her journey through Wonderland, I understand Alice needed to "Fall down" in order to grow up.  

      And so the story ends where it began with Alice's sister reading to her on the riverbank. 

 Alice awakens wiser and more grateful for the sunlight than ever before. 

 

 Alice now knows better who she is,

 what races to run, 

 and  

that the answer was within her the whole time.